Petoskey council repeals chicken policy

When the council approved the chicken policy, Pall said Monday that it seemed to have the protections needed so that backyard chickens wouldn’t pose problems for the surrounding environment. Following the petition effort, the mayor said it seemed apparent that it had been organized with the intention of undoing the ordinance. He said leaders of the effort had indicated this in his communications with them, and that newspaper advertisements for the petition drive appeared to indicate this as well.

Marshall said he also understood the petition’s intent to be repeal of the ordinance, and added that the chicken policy might be an option to consider again in the future if the community can be educated more about what it entails.

The petition drive’s intent was a topic of some debate Monday, though.

Although the petition forms indicated repeal as the intent, Atkins said he had heard that some who circulated it had verbally indicated that a ballot question would be the objective, and that this had been based on guidance from the city clerk.

City clerk-treasurer Al Terry, who was not on hand for Monday’s meeting, declined today to comment on the matter.

Strauss, who did not attend Monday’s meeting, had said at one point during last week’s meeting that not all who signed the petition favored repeal.

Postelnick said he would abstain from the vote because he believed the process needed to be reviewed further, and requested that the matter be placed on the council’s next meeting agenda for further discussion, with Atkins noting after the meeting that he had similar concerns.

“I think it’s important for the community to understand what took place,” Postelnick said.

Farming for Our Future, a nonprofit educational organization with an agricultural focus, had supported the change in city zoning rules that would allow chicken-keeping. The group had touted the policy as a way to encourage healthy living using local food sources, sustainable food production and opportunities to learn about agriculture.

Toril Fisher, the organization’s executive director, said Monday that she had “sadly” reached the conclusion that repeal was correct option under the circumstances. Fisher noted that other political considerations seemed to have entered the process.

“It’s obvious that you have an agenda that goes beyond the conversations we’ve had about chickens,” she said.

During the meeting, Fisher noted frustrations with an opinion column written by News-Review staff member Neil Stilwell — which she said contained misinformation about the chicken policy and had been published without a counterpoint in the newspaper.

Fisher also referred to a statement made by Atkins at last week’s meeting, when he noted a wish that chicken-policy proponents could be escorted to the city limits and “shown the door.”

“I hope that in November, you too are shown the door for your ignorance and intolerance,” she said.

Atkins said Monday that he would like to clarify his intentions with the comment, noting that it was directed toward those who had brought the proposal into the city from elsewhere and not toward those within Petoskey.

In pursuing the ordinance repeal, Johnson said he’d like to offer an “olive branch” that he hoped both sides in the chicken debate would accept. He said he’d like to see them return to the table at some point and discuss the policy in a calm, orderly fashion — rather than pursuing a ballot question that would involve election expenses and challenge the community’s unity.